July 21, 2003

How to Destroy the Democratic Party in One Brief Presidential Election

Memo to the Republican Party:

Let me begin by informing you that, with the single exception of Rudolph Giuliani , I have never voted for a Republican in my life. And I've voted in over 15 national elections, including the last Presidential election. This, if our current President stays the course, is about to change. As you know, I am not the only one. If I was on the fence, the last few months of carping and backbiting have pushed me off.

I have "Yellowcake" fatigue and compassion fatigue. I have post-September 11th Chronic Fatigue with Appeasers Syndrome. In short, I have so many things going on in my political nature that it is best to say, surveying the current crop of Democratic candidates for President, I have had it up to here with the whole baying pack of them.

And yet... and yet... There is a chance, a small chance, that the nation could end up with a Democrat as President after the elections, and with Democrats in control of the Congress. A victory such as this will, in the short or long run, cause the United States to lose a city of some size to her enemies.

I am unwilling to consign thousands of my countrymen to death in order to bring the current crop of Democrats back into power. Call me cynical and unsupportive of a Democrat's right to hold any sort of power at this time, but that's just the way I feel. Face it, they haven't been stepping up to the bar and making us feel very secure about the future, have they?

Therefore, I feel that it is necessary for the Republicans to take out heavy insurance on the next election. There is only one scenario that seems to me to fit

the needs of the United States and the world at this time. And, besides, it is time for it on more than one level.

So listen carefully. This is what has to happen.

George W. Bush will be nominated as the Republican candidate for President in 2004. There's no dispute here. Richard Cheney will also be nominated as Vice-Presidential candidate for 2004. He's done a great job and there's no reason to break up a winning team. Coming out of the convention, the Bush / Cheney ticket will be a done deal.

But it is not, I fear, the ticket that can destroy the Democratic Party. Hence, it simply won't do. After the convention, it will have to change.

It will have to change some time after the convention. Not a short time after, but not a long time either. The beginning of August would be about right. Just about then Mr. Cheney's health will become an issue. He will have to have a complete work-up and during that work-up it will be discovered that his heart simply cannot be depended upon. He will, regretfully but for the good of the country and the Republican party, withdraw his name from the ticket.

At that time, it will be up to the President to find and confirm, with all appropriate consultation and following the rituals and laws in this regard, another person for the Vice-Presidential slot. It is at this time the President must turn to the only person in his administration that can deliver absolute victory for the Republicans, destroy the Democrats for decades, and move the Republic of the United States of America into the 21st Century.

Gentle reader, I give you the next Vice-President of the United States: Condolezza Rice.

Posted by Vanderleun at July 21, 2003 1:56 PM
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Comments:

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"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper N.B.: Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately. Comments that exceed the obscenity or stupidity limits will be either edited or expunged.

I've been thinking about that possibility myself. I don't know if it would destroy the Dems, but it sure as hell would be one damn interesting choice wouldn't it? What is it with the Bush boys that they pick suck lack-luster VP's?

What if Cheney were to retire permanently to the secure, undisclosed location (also known as Boca Raton)...and nobody noticed? :)

Posted by: Solomon at July 21, 2003 3:24 PM

Umm...suck=such *cough*

(BTW, the Name, Address and URL fields don't show up on your single entry page (on my system anyway))

Posted by: Solomon at July 21, 2003 4:05 PM

Actually, I think the GOP convention isn't even until early September, but it would be no surprise for Cheney to bow out for health reasons and Condi to replace him.

Posted by: oj at July 21, 2003 4:10 PM

Run, Condi, run

http://www.rice2008.com/

Posted by: Frank DiSalle at July 21, 2003 5:33 PM

Nope, not a chance. Rice has no credientials other than the NS advisor job. The Congressional Republicans won't permit it, and neither will the RNC apparatus.

Rice will one day be a highly credible candidate IF she leaves the NS job and gets elected to the Congress.

But she has simply not punched her ticket in enough political jobs yet to be credible now, especially for the job that is, as they say, "one heartbeat away" from the presidency.

Posted by: DOnald Sensing at July 21, 2003 8:34 PM

Clarification: by "no crednetials," I do not mean that the NS.A. job is the only one she's had; I know she has served government before.

But she has no public-service experience - nada, zip - in anything but foreign policy. The Dems will focus in 2004 on domestic issues heavily, mainly because they can't play on the foreign-policy arena.

Rice would be no asset to Bush's campaign as a VP candidate.

Posted by: Donald Sensing at July 21, 2003 8:40 PM

"Nope, not a chance. Rice has no credientials other than the NS advisor job."

Didn't they sit still for GWH Bush? Not that there aren't differences between his situation and Rice's - but there's still some similarities, and I try to never underestimate the appeal of kicking your opponents when they're down, which is what I think that nominating Rice very well might do.

Still, I could see it going either way.

Posted by: Moe Lane at July 22, 2003 5:49 AM

Moe, the difference is that Bush earned the nomination by winning primaries. Cheney was appointed to the VP slot after Bush had the nomination locked. So would Rice be so appointed. So it's really apples and oranges to compare how Bush got the nomination for Prez and how Rice would get on the ticket for VP.

Posted by: Donald Sensing at July 22, 2003 7:12 AM

Rice might prove an excellent vice president & an excellent president, but a comparison of the bios of GHWB, Cheney, & Rice suggests that her governmental & political portfolio really doesn’t match those of the others.

From
http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/history/Presidents/GB41.html

GHWB
...served two terms as a Representative to Congress from Texas. Twice he ran unsuccessfully for the Senate. Then he was appointed to a series of high-level positions: Ambassador to the United Nations, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Chief of the U. S. Liaison Office in the People's Republic of China, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. In 1980 Bush campaigned for the Republican nomination for President.

And, as Sensing said, won some primaries.

From http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/vicepresident/VPBio.html

Dick Cheney’s

...career in public service began in 1969 when he joined the Nixon Administration, serving in a number of positions at the Cost of Living Council, at the Office of Economic Opportunity, and within the White House.

When Gerald Ford assumed the Presidency in August 1974, Mr. Cheney served on the transition team and later as Deputy Assistant to the President. In November 1975, he was named Assistant to the President and White House Chief of Staff, a position he held throughout the remainder of the Ford Administration.

After he returned to his home state of Wyoming in 1977, Mr. Cheney was elected to serve as the state's sole Congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was re-elected five times and elected by his colleagues to serve as Chairman of the Republican Policy Committee from 1981 to 1987. He was elected Chairman of the House Republican Conference in 1987 and elected House Minority Whip in 1988. During his tenure in the House, Mr. Cheney earned a reputation as a man of knowledge, character, and accessibility.

Mr. Cheney also served a crucial role when America needed him most. As Secretary of Defense from March 1989 to January 1993, Mr. Cheney directed two of the largest military campaigns in recent history - Operation Just Cause in Panama and Operation Desert Storm in the Middle East. He was responsible for shaping the future of the U.S. military in an age of profound and rapid change as the Cold War ended. For his leadership in the Gulf War, Secretary Cheney was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George Bush on July 3, 1991.

Condoleezza Rice—remember this is only the governmental stuff, there’s a lot else there in her case.

From
http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/nsc/RiceBio.html

Dr. Condoleezza Rice became the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, commonly referred to as the National Security Advisor, on January 22, 2001.
[snip]
From 1989 through March 1991, the period of German reunification and the final days of the Soviet Union, she served in the Bush Administration as Director, and then Senior Director, of Soviet and East European Affairs in the National Security Council, and a Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. In 1986, while an international affairs fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations, she served as Special Assistant to the Director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In 1997, she served on the Federal Advisory Committee on Gender -- Integrated Training in the Military.

Posted by: ForNow at July 22, 2003 9:14 AM

Sorry, I didn’t get the italics all right with Cheney’s stuff. But I think you can tell where it’s a quote from the bio.

Posted by: ForNow at July 22, 2003 9:16 AM

This country has had VP's brought on the ticket before because of their appeal to blocs of voters and to add political/regional balance. Qualifications rest primarily in their intelligence and how well grounded they are in the basics of governmental/political operations and personal principles. In Condi's case you have a huge positive edge from the women's, minority and issues perspectives that far outweigh her not having run for office before. It would surprise me greatly if she were not given very serious consideration for this unique moment in our nation's history and for the momentum it would generate for the Republican party and the issues they hold dear.
Dick Cheney is a patriot and a realist who puts the party and this opportunity before his personal considerations. He would likely become a chief advocate for taking this "carpe diem" approach.

Posted by: KenD at July 22, 2003 3:02 PM

This country has had VP's brought on the ticket before because of their appeal to blocs of voters and to add political/regional balance. Qualifications rest primarily in their intelligence and how well grounded they are in the basics of governmental/political operations and personal principles. In Condi's case you have a huge positive edge from the women's, minority and issues perspectives that far outweigh her not having run for office before. It would surprise me greatly if she were not given very serious consideration for this unique moment in our nation's history and for the momentum it would generate for the Republican party and the issues they hold dear.
Dick Cheney is a patriot and a realist who puts the party and this opportunity before his personal considerations. He would likely become a chief advocate for taking this "carpe diem" approach.

Posted by: KenD at July 22, 2003 3:02 PM

You say Cheney has to go but offer no reason for your assertion. You say you've only voted once for a Republican and yet that same Republican isn't the one you'd choose for a replacement VP today, even though Rudi is the only one who could deliver the knock out punch to which you ascribe to Condi Rice.

Your analysis is far fetched and flawed.

Posted by: me at July 22, 2003 8:10 PM

Carol Mosely Braun got to where she is today by bing the first black woman to win a Senate seat from Illinois.

She had no other appeal than "first black woman to run for a Senate seat from Illinois". Unless you count her pro pot stance.

Condi could gain a lot from the same dynamic.

Posted by: M. Simon at July 23, 2003 1:41 AM

Why even bother discussing what the losing candidate will do for a VP?
Bush is burning, the country is turning against him.
His lies have wasted 1,000 american soldier's lives.
After election day, he will be nothing more than what he was before, a moron.
This country needs a LEADER, not a convicted drunk who kills our soldiers.

Posted by: Charles C at July 25, 2003 12:24 PM

Charles C, my son...didn't your mama ever tell you that name calling only reveals your true IQ? C'mon give us something to chew on.

Posted by: davidm at July 29, 2003 7:28 PM

Cheney is healthy enuff to serve as vp. he has done a fabulous job. he does exactly what is needed and expected of a vp. in my opinion democrats don't have a chance. they are commiting political suicide. the clintons are indeed sucking up all the air and cannot help the party because they are one of the main reasons democratic party is in such bad shape.

Posted by: hondadude at August 2, 2003 10:41 PM

Totally!!! I have been saying that for Months. It’s about time and I hope it happens.

Posted by: Brett Foty at August 6, 2003 8:13 AM